


if my heart was a house, you'd be home

by marvelleous



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Angst, F/M, Family, Fluff, Reunions, season five
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-25
Updated: 2018-01-27
Packaged: 2019-03-08 22:58:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,901
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13468347
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/marvelleous/pseuds/marvelleous
Summary: Some things happen for a reason, events that cannot be altered no matter what, even if all the forces in the universe try to bind together and prevent it.Or, the one where Phil gets back from his ghost-rider ordeal and ends up adopting a kid with Melinda.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> title from if my heart was a house by owl city. sequel to [let us find a future in the past](http://archiveofourown.org/works/13455327)

The reality is, no matter how hard one tries to prevent it, some things happen for a reason; they keep happening, they  _ always _ happen. 

Fitz had tried explaining it to them before, about how there was no future, no past, how time was fixed, only a perception. She hadn't understood it then, but after being sucked into the future and fighting her way back, it made much more sense to her now. His theories were not proven entirely true either. 

Their journey through time and space had the singular purpose of preventing the world from being destroyed, and against all odds they had succeeded. The earth, which they had seen for themselves, crumbled into chunks of rock and debris, was once again whole. Life had been restored, buildings standing where they had always been, the planet looking exactly as it had before all the destruction had begun. They had changed the future, altered an outcome that by all means should have been unchangeable.

But for all their efforts, some points do appear as though they are fixed in time, because the day of the diner really is the last time they are all seen together.

After the things they have been through, not a single one of them is equipped to keep going on like this, to keep fighting. Neither the human body nor the mind was designed to cope in such a way, and as wistful as they all get before they part, no one raises objections to taking a break from things, at least for a little while.

Fitz and Simmons take a trip back home to visit their respective families, prepare for a wedding. Mack and Elena on a much-needed break, to recover from their ordeal; losing Flint had hit them both hard, especially Mack who had still yet to bounce back from the events of the framework.

Daisy goes off the grid for a while, just travelling around, no one knows where.

Phil is the first to go.

He says his goodbyes to the rest of the team, and there are warm embraces and tears from all participants. Melinda stands to one side and simply watches, until he turns towards her and everyone else appears to have made a hasty exit, giving them a chance to engage in a more private farewell. She doesn't hesitate when he wraps his arms around her, leaning into his touch and reciprocating, holding him just as tightly. 

They don't have much time.

He presses a kiss to the crown of her head and she digs her fingers into his shoulder blades, unwilling to let him go.

“I'll see you soon,” he whispers against her hair, and the conviction with which he speaks gives her hope, faith that they’ll be together once more. She knows that there is nothing that can be done to keep him here, that he has to go and live out his end of the bargain with the rider, and as unfair as it is, they have little say in the matter. 

She kisses him before they part, short and sweet, a promise of things to come when he returns. They both linger until they are forced to part, and she is left wondering just how long of a wait it might be until he comes back to her.

 

* * *

 

Melinda had once said that, to her, Phil and S.H.I.E.L.D, were indistinguishable. Phil Coulson was the living embodiment of S.H.I.E.L.D. and it’s values, but she had not counted on just how true that was in all contexts. 

She tries to rebuild, to recreate the organisation she has spent most of her life fighting for, but her efforts prove futile. More than six months pass and her new team is a mess of former agents and mercenaries, their base of operations an abandoned warehouse with a huge basement in the middle of nowhere and their technology limited to the scraps she gathered here and there. 

Nothing really comes together until he returns, rather dramatically, in the middle of the night, with a gift for her no less. 

She's standing in a tank top and a pair of leggings, feet bare, watching as her precious Zephyr makes a rather awkward landing on the empty field by their base. A group of her agents have gathered, hovering behind her, and she can hear their curious whispers, wondering what on earth was happening and why she hadn't bothered to get dressed before rushing outside. It's all she can do to keep still, to stop herself from bolting towards him the moment that Phil makes an appearance, the dorky smile on his face clear to her even in the poor lighting.

He looks exactly as he does the night that he was forced to leave, but she can see that a huge weight has been lifted off his shoulders, that he walks towards her with nothing but relief in his eyes. She lets out a little gasp of surprise when he pulls her into his arms and kisses her for the entire world to see. The agents around them let out whistles and catcalls, but she finds that she does not care, not when the person who matters most to her in the world has returned.

They stay like that for a while, just holding on to one another, basking in the feeling of being together once more. When they part, he leads her back aboard her precious aircraft, knowing that they'll have to find somewhere else to store it if they don't want military personnel turning up at the crack of dawn the next morning and having them all arrested. 

When all is done and dusted, they curl up in her old bunk, the place where they had shared their first real kiss, in what feels like a lifetime ago, and they sleep, wrapped up in each other’s arms, having finally found a little peace. 

They have all the time in the world now, hope for a future where they have happiness, with each other, which only means that something life-changing is likely to happen soon, because given their track record, peace doesn’t last long. 

 

* * *

 

The first thing she sees when she opens her eyes the next morning is Phil, lying beside her, with a smile on his face as he continues to play with a strand of her hair, watching her as if he’s afraid she’ll disappear should he look away. He pauses when he realises she’s staring back at him, shifting as if to draw his hand away when she stops him, reaching out and tracing the edge of his jaw with one finger. 

There's a lull, one that feels almost endless, before they close the gap between them, their lips meeting with the desperation of two people who have been apart far too long. 

It doesn't start off tentative, because for once in their lives they're placing their own needs ahead of others, and they have been waiting for this moment for quite some time. She tugs at the hem of his shirt, forcing him to pull away so he can take it off, before she's climbing on top of him, straddling his waist as she maps out the scar on his chest, feeling the ridges and valleys beneath her fingertips. 

He groans at the sensation, before drawing her down towards him so their lips meet once more. She drags his hand to her hip, urging him to explore beneath her shirt, gasping as he slowly tucks the material upwards. He takes his time, as if trying to savour the experience, but she quickly grows impatient, leaning back and removing her top, flinging it to the ground. She’s exposed to him now, completely bare from the waist up, and he looks as though he cannot believe that these events are finally transpiring. 

“What the hell are you waiting for?” she whispers, pressing a kiss to the edge of his jaw, fingers teasing the waistband of his boxers.

The indignant shriek she lets out a split second later when he flips their positions and pins her against the sheets is probably loud enough to be heard halfway across the base, and she thinks it's probably a good thing they decided to spend the night aboard the Zephyr.

 

* * *

 

Things don't go back to normal after that.

S.H.I.E.L.D. has been struggling on under her leadership, but now that Phil has returned, they thrive. They find a new balance, working together and being together, making an effort not to keep secrets from another in both their personal and professional relationships.

He’s still reluctant to speak of whatever went down when he disappeared those six months, but that she understands, only wishing he were able to share some of his burdens with her. She has her own fears and worries, but they're easier to cope with knowing that he's here with her.

That they'll support each other, no matter what happens.

 

* * *

 

Daisy turns up three weeks later, looking exhausted and worse for wear, but it’s the little girl asleep in her arms that Melinda cannot take her eyes off. 

“Her mother’s dead,” she hears Daisy tell Phil, and all three of them exchange a knowing look. Polly Hinton had not survived in their other future either, though they cannot know for sure whether her death is a mere coincidence, or another fixed occurrence within time that cannot be altered. It's not the time to dwell on such thoughts however; having Daisy back is something that brings her joy, and she doesn't need to see the wide smile on Phil’s face to know he's happy too. 

It didn't feel right without her around. Phil had told her once that he thought of Daisy as a daughter. She hadn't made the confession that she felt the same way, because she never believed she could be a mother.

Not after her actions in Bahrain, even having seen what the world could have turned to had Katya not been put down. 

She had only begun to question her own convictions after learning that she had been the one to raise Robin in another life, that her actions had ensured the world was saved, that she served a purpose in the world other than to fight and cause bloodshed. Perhaps if she was given such an opportunity now, she could do it, though her thoughts are only premature at this stage.

Still, as she follows Phil down the hall, watching him guide Daisy into an empty room so she and Robin can have somewhere to rest up, seeing the expression upon his face as he chides her about taking better care of herself, she knows he’s even better suited to being a father than being an agent. He smiles when he meets her gaze and while she cannot tell what he is thinking at this moment, she knows that he’s reading her like an open book.

“So… Daisy’s back,” he says, starting a conversation he should know by now will be mostly one-sided. She nods, turning her gaze to the closed door that marks the room they had been saving for Daisy,  _ coincidentally _ right down the hall from their own. In the time that Phil had been gone, she had kept tabs on each of the members of their team, making sure that they were okay but respecting their boundaries and refraining from making contact. She had her own motivations for staying in the field, keeping S.H.I.E.L.D. afloat, and she wasn’t about to drag them back in before they were ready, or if they had changed their mind about returning. It’s easier now that Daisy’s back, and judging by the duffel she had brought with her, planning on staying, at least for a little while. 

Phil seems to take her silence as an invitation to keep rambling on as they make their way down the hall towards  _ their _ bedroom, where she assumes they’ll sit down and have a conversation about what to do about Robin. She has already drafted up a list of viable options in her mind, and despite Phil’s seemingly carefree expression, she knows that he’s doing the same. 

The views of those in the world are changing, albeit slowly compared to the sudden physical changes undergone by inhumans, but it's still far too dangerous to allow a child with abilities to go into the foster care system. They have little experience with powered individuals so young, but she knows there must be a reason why children were not subjected to terrigenesis before they matured, both by Daisy’s mother at Afterlife, and by the Kree during their time at the Lighthouse. Katya was the worst case scenario, but they have no way of knowing what a good outcome looks like. The adult Robin she had spoken with seemed well adjusted enough, but still acted like a child in her old age, though understandably her circumstances were not ideal to begin with. 

Keeping a child on the base is not likely to be a feasible option either; their lives are dangerous, surrounded by death and destruction, and to bring someone so young and defenseless into the fold is much too risky. There have rooms stocked with weapons, an aircraft with missile launching abilities, dubious allies and even deadlier enemies. Neither their base nor their people are equipped to deal with raising a child, and as cruel as it sounds, they would not be giving the situation a second thought if it were a regular kid. Any unpowered individual would be better off away from a life like theirs, even if it meant being passed from home to home throughout their adolescence until they were old enough to get by on their own. But Robin is no regular kid, and she cannot for the life of her think of another feasible option where S.H.I.E.L.D. can keep watch over her while giving her a safe and happy environment to grow up in. She can come up with a hundred more reasons why it would be a bad idea.

But the truth is, she only needs one good reason to change her mind. Whether that's enough for the both of them is another matter.


	2. Chapter 2

Robin is quiet, very shy, and takes to following Daisy around wherever she goes. Melinda watches the two interact, sees how patient she is with the girl, and it brings a smile to her face to see just how much Daisy has grown up in the years since they first met.

The other agents on the base find it peculiar to have a kid around, but no one raises objections or comes to them with complaints, given that their own day to day schedules remain uninterrupted.

Phil himself takes on a different kind of role as Melinda assumes charge of the base, keeping careful watch over her recruits as he makes an effort to reconnect with Daisy. They had decided it would be easier that way, because Phil was skilled at engaging in conversations with people whereas Melinda had always possessed various deadlier methods in order to extract information, none of which she wanted to use on the younger agent.

It isn't just Daisy that he forms a closer bond within the days after her arrival. Robin, who had refused to speak to anyone else for the first three days she was there, begins to respond to his gentle words of encouragement. Melinda sees her smiling when he compliments her drawings, nodding when he offers her a snack, and she begins to reconsider the options they have at hand.

Whether or not it's plausible to just let things continue as they are.

She keeps a distance at first, just observing from afar, scared to let herself have a taste of something so real before she knows if it will last. Resistance is futile however, when late one afternoon, she finds herself alone in the company of Robin, who decides that crawling beneath Melinda’s desk and sitting by her feet is the best way to win her game of hide and go seek with Daisy.

A frazzled Phil throws open the door to their shared office thirty minutes later, clearly panicking at the thought of having misplaced a child in the middle of a secret base, and she gestures for him to take a peek under her desk. They share a smile at the sight, Robin having dozed off, curled up against one side of the desk. Melinda shifts out of the way so Phil can go and pick the girl up as gently as he can, wanting to avoid rousing her from her slumber.

They bump into Daisy on their way to her room, and she looks a relieved to see Robin safe and sound, albeit a little surprised to see the both of them with her. They send her off to go and get something to eat, knowing that she needs a break from this, from the responsibilities of caring for a kid. This shouldn't all fall to her; as independent as she is, Daisy can hardly remember to take care of herself at times, and having someone depend on her isn't helping. Seeing her neglect her own needs is painful for both of them, when all they really want is for her to be safe and happy.

Melinda watches as she heads off towards the kitchen, before turning back to Phil, who is laying the still sleeping girl down in her bed, tucking the sheets around her before he pulls away, the fondness in his expression as he turns to look at her, an unspoken question forming on his lips, it's enough.

She _knows._

 

* * *

 

Their actual discussion on the matter lasts all of five minutes before Phil enters what she thinks of as his “pre-operations mode”. Where normally he would begin to plan for a mission, now he's making lists of items they will need to procure, safety measures to put in place to properly _childproof_ the entire base.

His excitement is contagious, and she finds herself just smiling as she watches him fret over all the minute details that likely won't make too much of a difference in the long run. It's crazy really, to think about what they're about to do, because there are so many things that could go wrong.

But one singular thought remains in her mind; _What if things go right?_

It probably would be easier if they left this life behind, if they tried to create some sense of normalcy; they've already dedicated so many years to the cause, and no one would begrudge them for wanting to live for themselves. But strangely enough, she doesn't want that, and she knows Phil could never abandon S.H.I.E.L.D, not like this. Being a part of this organisation was what brought them together, gave them more experiences than one could ever dream of, and she can't imagine moving on without it.

He's rambling now, but she doesn't focus on what he's saying, too distracted by the smile on his face and the tone of his voice. It isn't until she stands that he stops talking, surprised by her sudden movement, but raising no objections as she steps around the table, resting one hand on his shoulder. She leans down, pressing a gentle kiss to his lips, feeling as he smiles against hers, and begrudgingly allowing him to tug her towards him until she’s seated in his lap.

“What was that for?” he mumbles as they break apart, brushing his nose against her cheek, rubbing slow circles against her spine with his thumb.

“It's kind of cute when you ramble,” she responds, looping her arms around his neck and leaning back a little, tilting her head to one side and observing the expression on his face.

He grins, looking far too pleased with himself, and she rolls her eyes before leaning in and kissing him again, just because she can. She presses herself closer against him, grinning as he sweeps her hair over one shoulder, nuzzling at her neck and pressing kiss after kiss to the exposed skin there. There really never is a right time or place for a moment like this, but they have gone through enough together to know that every second they are able to spend together counts.

As if to prove her point, a knock sounds out against their door not two minutes later, one of the newer recruits asking for acquisition paperwork to be signed off on. They part with great reluctance, but she assures him with a single look that they’ll continue their displays of affection later on in the evening, and he loosens his grip around her, allowing her to slip away and back into her role as an agent.

 

* * *

 

They plan on letting Daisy know about their plans to take Robin in themselves, to give her the best home they are able, but the opportunity for that conversation comes far sooner than they are prepared for, the morning after they make the life-altering decision.

It’s early, before most of the base’s occupants are even awake, and Melinda is perched on the kitchen counter, watching Phil sleepily move around, making her tea, brewing his own coffee and getting started on breakfast preparations. He’s not quite one hundred percent alert yet, but it’s in these moments she enjoys observing him the most, when his defenses are low and his mind is void of the problems that they will need to deal with later on. She smiles when he hands over her tea, blowing gently across the surface to cool the burning liquid down before she attempts to take a sip.

Her actions are interrupted however, when she hears the sound of footsteps heading down the hall, two sets, one so light that it's barely distinguishable. She speaks before the figures even come into view, somehow instinctively knowing what’s about to happen.

“Where the hell do you think you're going?”

Phil turns towards her, before following her gaze to the doorway, where Daisy is standing, frozen like a deer in the headlights, with Robin in tow. Her expression shifts from surprise to another, one that they're unfortunately familiar with. Self-deprecation, doubt, discomfort, as though she had done something wrong.

“I figured we had stayed long enough, already found us another place to lay low for a while.”

Melinda moves down from her position on the counter, and no sooner has her feet touched the ground, Robin breaks free of Daisy’s hold and rushes straight towards her, wrapping two skinny arms around her legs.

“Robin, come on, I already told you we can't stay here.”

Phil frowns, turning his head in her direction, and she knows that they're both thinking the same thing; when had they ever given Daisy the impression that her being here was a temporary thing? He speaks before she can though, and she turns her attentions to Robin, lifting her up in her arms, smiling when the girl sinks into her embrace, as if it’s something she wants.

“Why can't you stay? Is there somewhere else you need to be?”

Daisy shakes her head, seemingly rendered speechless for a moment before responding.

“I didn't want to impose. You guys are trying to get S.H.I.E.L.D. back together and we’d only get in the way. I promised her dad I'd take care of her, and that's on me and no one else.”

There’s a pause, one that lasts far too long, before Phil abandons his preparation of breakfast, turning his full attention to Daisy, who looks as though she’s about to bolt at any second. He takes a deep breath, and Melinda realises he’s about to spring the news on Daisy, about the decision they have made regarding Robin’s future, when they're all interrupted by a loud whisper from the girl herself.

“We stay with you.”

It's not a child with undeveloped grammar, but the words of a girl who can see into the future.

_We stay with you._

Meaning both her _and_ Daisy, who now looks incredibly confused.

“Melinda and I discussed it, at length, and we think that the best thing to do is to have Robin stay here. With us.” Phil punctuates his last two words by reaching a hand out in her general direction, one that Melinda begrudgingly takes. He tugs her a little closer, slipping an arm around her waist when they're side by side, and it feels almost strange, to be standing here next to the person that means more to her than anything in the world, holding a kid in her arms, a kid that they’re planning to raise. Together.  

Daisy nods slowly, processing the newfound information in her mind, from the sudden announcement of a pretty obvious shift in their relationship status to the declaration that they intend to take in an orphaned child with very few other options.

“Wow, that's… that's really generous of you guys.”

She shifts as she speaks, holding her bag a little more closely as she looks between the three of them, before averting her gaze entirely. Her shoulders slump, if only slightly, and it's clear for all to see what's going through her mind, that she isn't wanted or needed here, that it's yet another home that has forsaken her. If the situation were not so critical, Melinda might have rolled her eyes and shaken her head at Daisy’s antics, but she knows if they don't say something soon, she’ll disappear on them again.

“I repeat, where the hell do you think you're going?”

Daisy opens her mouth as if to speak, but then closes it, shrugging, and in this moment she is telling them the truth, because it's clear to see that she has no idea where she’s headed.

“I can't stay here,” she whispers, and Melinda doesn't even bother to ask why on earth she would think such a thing, because she already knows the answer.

“What makes you think we don't want you here?”

Phil is frowning, unable to even fathom a response to his own question, because in his mind they have done nothing but try and give Daisy a place where she feels as though she belongs. Despite the times she’s run away, her coming back in the end made him feel as though he had achieved his goal, given her somewhere to hide when times were tough, given her someone to rely on when she had nothing else.

She doesn't respond, and while it's evident that there are plenty of reasons she can come up with, she isn't willing to reveal them, for either her sake or theirs.

Melinda has all the patience in the world, but she has no intention of standing here and letting Daisy beat herself up over misunderstandings or past abandonment issues; she chooses to speak her mind.

“Phil was the one that pulled me away from my desk in Administration, the one who brought me back into the field, gave me something to fight for when I thought there was nothing else left. But you were the first agent I trained, the one who made me believe that I could do something other than what S.H.I.E.L.D. had trained me for. I told you before that I was the one you made you an agent, and in return, you made me your mentor. We, all of us, are more than just a team.”

_We’re a family._

Her last thought goes unspoken, but it’s clear Daisy doesn’t actually need to hear it to understand the purpose of her speech, dropping her bag to the ground and rushing in their direction. She flies straight into Phil’s arms, both shocking him and knocking the air from his lungs with the force, and Melinda reaches out, laying a hand on her shoulder and giving it a gentle squeeze, this time conveying through her touch and her gaze that they’re all right where they belong.

 

* * *

 

It’s a big adjustment, becoming parents, but they handle it like they have handled everything else in their past. They try their hardest to do their best, and have faith that it’ll all work out in the end. There are days when neither of them are around and Daisy steps in to fill her role of being an older sister; coming back after a hard mission with _their_ _girls_ waiting for them is more than worth it.

They still have doubts at times, about whether or not they’re doing the right thing by Robin, raising her in such an environment, but she seems happy enough, having settled right into a life like theirs. Phil spends more time with her during the day, finally putting the teaching skills he gained from his stint in the framework to good use, ensuring a proper education, even though they know she is far more intelligent than she lets on. At night they read to her together, sit with her until she falls asleep, and the first time she calls them “Mom and Dad”, Melinda swears that Phil has tears of joy in his eyes, no matter how vehemently he tries to deny it.

She wipes away her own before he notices, but that’s neither here nor there.

**Author's Note:**

> if you enjoyed, please let me know by leaving a kudos or a comment :)


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